Bare-fisted Kitsune
by Kurogane7
Summary: Nothingness and Destruction; two powers, two styles, both from the same school. A scroll that Naruto found had given him fighting skills to face kunoichi. As he travels throughout the Elemental Nations, competing in many martial arts tournaments, he eventually and unknowingly catches many eyes: for his power, his love, or for both. First Male Nin! Large, but reasonable Naru/Harem!
1. Moving Out

_**A/N: I keep having a lot of new ideas storming in my head…this one, I don't know where to take it. But for now, consider it a pilot episode. The harem here will be large, but reasonable, with a lot of one-sided romances. Remember, as with any pilot episode, the reviews are the ratings for this TV show, so do read and review would you kindly?**_

…

{Play: "Sakura's Theme" by Toshiro Masuda}

[Hi no Kuni wilderness...]

A light breeze blew through the trees of Hi no Kuni, letting out a resounding rustle that soothed the soul. The birds chirping only served to make the day even more pleasant as Sarutobi Hiromi took a long stroll through the wilderness with her ANBU guard not too far behind, taking in all the sights. Her destination just so happened to be Hi no Tera, where she would be visiting a particular child that the nuns had agreed to take in.

The reason that Hiromi had decided to take this child to the temple was because the orphanage matron Hanigan was found guilty of drug-running, child abuse, and child slavery. The woman was put in jail by the Uchiha police, and locked up without parole, and it was a good thing too. It was disturbing when she'd heard a lot of the orphans saying "We love you Hanigan-san" in dead voices. Even worse, said orphans were dead-eyed throughout the whole ordeal.

Shivering at the unpleasant memories, Hiromi was also glad she found Hanigan to have had many more charges than the three she'd been thrown in jail for. Because of this, she'd put the woman to death for all her crimes, and moved all the orphans that remained to the Hi no Tera to salvage what was left of their innocent minds. It was not a good idea to have future kunoichi walking around with such horrible childhoods damaging their psyche at a young age. However, she'd heard that most of the orphans were adopted from the temple, but only one child was left behind, even though he technically couldn't become a nun.

As she understood it, housing a young boy was not a problem at all with the nuns. Granted, it was more common that they found lovechild girls, they also sometimes picked up orphan boys that were abandoned or disowned by kunoichi couples that wanted girls. Unfortunately, there was a reason there were a lot of orphans running around (outside of their parents being killed); since time immemorial, women have been the premier fighting force in the Elemental Nations. This was because only women could take full advantage of the chakra coils they were born with, while all men and civilian women were born with chakra coils that were useless for fighting.

However, the biggest problem with the way things were in the world was keeping the supply of fresh kunoichi steady in one's village. At one point, men were a necessity to every kunoichi village; to the point that they would be married out from clans for diplomatic purposes, and steps were taken to increase the chances of a girl being born to increase the size of a village's army. Eventually, a special seal was developed that allowed kunoichi to have male genitalia, complete with testicles. This enabled kunoichi to impregnate other women, significantly increasing the odds of having a girl; that seal soon became obsolete when hermaphroditic girls with fully-functional genitalia started being more commonplace, and was now a very hot black market item for civilian women. Due to the arms race of quantity marrying in with quality in the Elemental Nations, many kunoichi clans encouraged shemale/female marriages.

This was not to say that there were no oddities with non-male couples involving kunoichi; this was because there was still a chance that a boy would be born from a union involving a kunoichi (one would say that there's roughly a 1:10 chance of a boy being born to a kunoichi couple without a man). Because of this, some kunoichi disowned and abandoned their boys; on the other hand, even though boys couldn't use chakra, they could still carry the clan's kekkei genkai in their genes (dormant, but still there and inheritable), making them valuable political bargaining chips. Hiromi was glad that this was not the case with this boy, knowing his parents were very loving people; they wanted him, no matter what gender he was. As she stopped, she noted that they had just arrived at her destination. She stood in front of a large doorway, flanked on both sides by a yamabushi tengu and a karasu tengu. The calligraphy on the rooftop stated that this is the Hi no Tera, meaning she'd come to the right place.

A few knocks on the door and a bald kunoichi nun had walked on out. "Ah! Hiromi-dono! Welcome!"

"A pleasure, I'm sure," said the aging Hokage, "is Chiriku around?"

"Yes, in fact she's still training the hopefuls," said the nun, before turning her head back into the temple grounds, "Chiriku! The Hokage's here to see you!"

"I'll be out momentarily."

Seeing that her sister superior was still busy with something, the nun allowed Hiromi and her guards to enter the premises. It wasn't long until a nun walked in with an air of experience about her. Not such a surprise, given that Chiriku was among the Daimyo's 12 Kunoichi Guardians. "Hiromi-dono, a pleasure to see you. How is Asami by the way?"

"Still working," chuckled Hiromi, "I trust you know why I'm here?"

"Yes, in fact, Naruto-kun is almost done packing," said Chiriku, beckoning for everyone to follow her, "it's a shame that he has to go. A lot of my fellow nuns have taken a liking to him, especially the younger generation…but unfortunately, it's for his own good that he has to leave. I know he's a good boy, and I will honestly say that he was like a son to me, but I'm afraid that he might unintentionally tempt the younger nuns to violate their chastity vows."

Hiromi could only nod at that understandingly; not that she would make chastity vows anytime soon. She loved her vices, especially that hoard of erotica she liked to enjoy when nobody was around (hardcore, shotacon slash novels being among her favorites).

However, going back to the reason she was here, Hiromi had decided that it was time that Naruto got his own place to stay. The nuns had already agreed to take care of him until he was old enough to live on his own…which was a hard enough thing to do, considering how much he'd bonded with the other nuns over the years. Although she supposed she could count her blessings: Naruto's time with the nuns had already guaranteed that he would be pretty well-educated (even reluctantly); he'd formed bonds, and found spirituality; and he was raised well, growing to be a lot happier and healthier than when he was living under Hanigan's reign of terror at the orphanage (which understandably made it even harder for him to leave).

Overall, Hiromi was glad that she'd moved all the orphans to the Hi no Tera. Although she was sad that he was not adopted by any civilians. The reason she didn't want any of the clans to take him in was to avoid Naruto being used as a political bargaining chip. Plus, allowing even one of the clan heads to adopt him would've brought everyone's attention to Naruto, thus bringing his parents' enemies to Konoha.

The group had stopped in front of a certain room. Three taps on the shoji door had told the inhabitants that someone was waiting. "I'll be out." came a depressed voice. The door slid open, revealing the whiskered face of Naruto looking up at all the adults in the area with a messenger bag slung over his side. Normally, the blond boy was very jovial and energetic; but it really did break Hiromi's heart to see him like this. Still, it had to be done.

{Play: "Her Most Beautiful Smile" by Noriyuki Asakura}

"Are you ready to go, Naruto-kun?" asked Chiriku.

"I've got all my stuff sealed into scrolls."

"I'll meet you outside the temple soon, Naruto-kun," said Hiromi, a comforting smile on her face.

"Do be good, Naruto-kun," said Chiriku, looking at Naruto sympathetically, "and remember, you're always welcome here in the temple."

Naruto said nothing; he simply hugged Chiriku with subtle sobbing. "I'm going to miss you."

Not knowing what else to do, Chiriku simply placed a hand on his head, and began to run her fingers through his hair. "Me too, Naruto-kun. Me too."

…

[The apartment, Konohagakure no Sato─hours later…]

The day was starting to come to an end as the empty apartment remained silent. Orange light from the setting sun cut through the windows as the door had opened. In walked the Hokage, and her young charge. As he paused to take in the sights, Naruto dropped his bag to the floor. He was not so well-educated as to know much about apartments, but even the dead could see that he was not the first person to live here.

There was nothing immediately wrong about it, just that it looked pretty old: the wallpaper looked like it needed to be replaced; the furniture was old, but still very sturdy; the lights were still incandescent instead of LED's; even the cooktop used a gas flame. The only things new about the area would be the flat-screen TV and the microwave, obviously left behind by the last people to live here. Overall, it was old, but was built to last. "Am I living here?"

"Yes," she answered, "This apartment will be your home."

"But who else will be living here?"

"There will not be anyone else living here, Naruto-kun," answered Hiromi, "I've signed it to be in your name entirely."

Naruto lowered his head in sadness upon hearing that. "I'm wishing I stayed at the temple now. baa-chan."

"And I can see why, but you can't stay there; no matter how disciplined the nuns are, they're still human; and the younger nuns may not have as much restraint as Chiriku yet," said Hiromi, sympathy in her voice, "you being there would've been like dangling a very juicy steak in front of a really hungry dog that's been told not to eat it."

There was a shrug. Even though he was not officially part of the temple, Naruto did, in fact, hear about the chastity vows that the nuns were supposed to make. In his monastic education, he understood that nuns were not supposed to go out dating and the like, the way normal people would. They weren't even allowed to kiss him at all, even though that didn't stop them from hugging him; this was especially the case with the younger nuns like Sora, while the older nuns just treated him nicely without much physical contact. "Don't worry, even though you're not living in the temple anymore, there are still people that care for you. Myself included. Besides, like Chiriku said, you can always come and visit the temple."

"What about school?"

"You're going to be attending the Kunoichi Academy in a week," at this point, Naruto was about to say something until Hiromi cut him off, "contrary to the name, the Kunoichi Academy does in fact allow boys and non-kunoichi girls to study. It's not as intimate as studying with the nuns, but it is just as extensive. Hopefully, you'll make new friends there during your stay; maybe even get yourself a civilian girlfriend somewhere down the road."

The playful wink that Hiromi gave out only seemed to make Naruto blush just a bit. "Baa-chan, are you sure you're not getting ahead of yourself?"

Hiromi could only chuckle in an odd way that Naruto could not identify. "Oh, okay then…maybe I'm wrong; you'll get yourself a boyfriend!"

"Baa-chan!"

"Relax, I'm just kidding! But still, keep in mind that I want you to form bonds in the village like you did in the temple. At the very least, I want you to get that out of going to school there." It was at this point that she pulled out a large wad of rolled-up bills from a pocket in her white robes. Just as he was about to reach for the roll, Hiromi pulled it out of his reach. "This is for the first time; you'll get a regular allowance every month until you're old enough to start working. I'll only let you have it if you promise me that you'll spend it wisely."

There was no room for argument in Hiromi's eyes as she looked at Naruto. It was then that he knew that she meant it; this money was for important things like food, water, even paying the bills. "I promise."

With a warm smile, she handed Naruto the wad. He graciously took the wad in his hands only for Hiromi to pull him into a hug. "Use this week to get yourself settled in."

She soon turned and left the apartment with a smile. It was clear to Naruto that the old woman had never never really done this in a long time; not with her own children. As the door closed behind Hiromi, Naruto began to unseal the scrolls like he was shown by the nuns. With him, he'd brought all his stuff with him from the temple, which wasn't much. Still, a good number of them had memories attached to them; like the calligraphy set he'd been given a few years ago as a gift to practice the art.

However, one item stood out among the others. It was long, and looked like an elongated vajra, but it was clear from its thickness in between the two points that this was a scroll. It was an item he'd found when he was exploring the wilderness. He'd come across an old temple, with the giant doors having rotted away by time. The courtyard was open, and had two statues of men spaced apart so as to make it seem that the two of them were locked in deadly combat. Each man was a mass of muscle, but appearance-wise, they were different: one was bald, but had a long, flowing beard, standing in a relatively low stance; the other had spiky hair done up in a top knot so as to make it look like he had fire for hair. However, for all their differences, Naruto could see subtle similarities between the two men that indicated that they were related.

He'd walked around the statues, afraid they would come to life and start fighting, so that he could continue to explore the dilapidated temple. Eventually, he came to the main complex, and found a large altar like they had in the Hi no Tera, flanked on both sides by Kongorikishi. However, Naruto's eyes were drawn to a box on the altar that practically begged him to open it. In that box, he'd found this scroll.

After taking the scroll, Naruto heard the sound of creaking; followed by the appearance of splinters falling from the roof. He immediately left the main complex, and managed to make it to the courtyard, knowing that the temple was going to go down after years of standing. It was there that Naruto realized that in his panic, that he was standing in between the statues of the two fighters. As he looked to the left, he saw the bearded man looking ready to charge. He looked to his right, and saw the devil preparing to do the same. Seeing this, Naruto looked down at the scroll, and asked himself: _was I meant to find this?_

He soon went back to the Hi no Tera, and started reading the scroll; he found that there were a lot of taijutsu skills, as well as words written in it that seemed to make him understand what he was reading. Seeing as the scroll was meant for him, and that he was meant to read what was within, Naruto started training even harder than the other nuns until he was just as capable as a regular kunoichi in the art of combat, causing them to wonder exactly what got him so interested in exercise.

Smiling at the amount of room he now had in this apartment, Naruto figured that this area would be where he would condition himself every day. Anything harder, he could always leave the apartment to do. After all, he had a long way to the top if he wanted to become a martial arts master!

…

_**A/N: I wonder which path Naruto will take?**_

…

_**Vocabulary**_

_**vajra─a small item in Hinduism and Buddhism that represents a thunderbolt. A good idea of what it looks like would be the Nidaime Hokage's Raijin no Ken.**_

_**Kongorikishi─a Buddhist guardian that looks like a mass of muscle. They are made to flank a Buddha statue, often to serve as the Buddha's bodyguards.**_

…

_**Cameos/References**_

_**Hanigan─Based on Hannigan from "Annie", who in turn inspired Grelod the Kind from "Skyrim".**_


	2. First Steps

_**A/N: 16 reviews on the first chapter? That's a rather good start. Oh dear; which path, which path…should Naruto walk the path of Nothingness, or shall he be corrupted by the Satsui no Hadou into walking the path of Destruction? Or will he master both paths and become a true Shotokan master? In any case, do read and review would you kindly?**_

…

{Play: "Afternoon of Konoha" by Toshiro Masuda, from "Naruto"}

[Kunoichi Academy, Konohagakure no Sato─seven years later…]

All was well in the Konoha Kunoichi Academy; if one were to ignore the tension caused by a large chart posted outside the school building. This was because it was that time of year where students were given their progress in school. The further down the list you were, the worse your grades were. This list took into consideration all the non-kunoichi students in the school; the kunoichi hopefuls on the other hand had a separate list that they had to pay special attention to, because this would determine whether or not they'd get to become kunoichi. Anyone who was below dead-center in either chart was considered a failure, and had to start all over.

A taller and more muscular Naruto was looking up at the chart to find his name and his standing in the class. He was a little more concerned about his grades due to the fact that Iruka-sensei blackmailed Harumi into leading her to his training area by the hot springs last year. She'd threatened to shout the word 'pervert' at the kunoichi side of the baths if he didn't come with them to listen up. It was not a pleasant thought, and there was a good reason for his fear; Naruto's training area just so happened to have a hole in the fence, which would make the accusation all the more credible.

Anyway, because of her threat to have him beaten by all the women in the hot spring (or worse), Naruto was forced to sit down and speak with Iruka about his and Harumi's failing grades (thankfully at the Ichiraku Ramen stand). The teacher was perplexed that given his monastic schooling up until six years of age, he should've been able to at least be more well-educated than the other students of his class with a guaranteed chance of graduation. She also said that the two of them should've been a little more motivated to study harder given how low their grade point average was.

It was there that Naruto and Harumi silently agreed to reveal that they had a sneaking suspicion that there were teachers that were sabotaging their education. Iruka asked for proof that there was foul play; but Naruto stated that he'd had nothing to go on but a hunch that there were people sabotaging him, and from the hateful looks he'd seen shot in Harumi's direction (which she corroborated by saying she'd seen them do the same thing to Naruto when they thought they weren't looking).

In response to this accusation of teachers sabotaging a student's work, and due to the lack of evidence, Iruka could only sigh and call their claim of foul play 'an excuse for failure'…but because this claim was big enough that it got her attention, Iruka stated that this time she'd be the one grading the next year's exams herself. However, she still had to do something to make sure the two of them passed; and so she had Naruto and Harumi thrown into a study group with Rock Lin, and Tenten was the assigned to tutor them. It was no surprise to Naruto that Tenten would be leading a study group, given that even back in the Hi no Tera, she was pretty well-learned. It frustrated her to no end that Naruto was among the people she'd been asked to tutor, given that he was considered a pretty good student back at the temple.

It was a year of hell, especially for Harumi and Lin, due to the fact that they needed specialized training to become kunoichi. But thanks to Tenten's tutelage, Naruto felt even more confident in his test-taking abilities; at the expense of his training time, but at least he didn't have to worry so much for his grades. Hopefully, Naruto's true level of knowledge would show through the exam. This was evident as he looked through the list for his name.

His eyes scanned through the list, hoping to find what he was looking for; until they settled on a particular line: Uzumaki Naruto, #25. It wasn't the top score, but it meant that he was in the top 25% out of 200 non-kunoichi students.

"Well look who's so happy!" said a voice that Naruto did not exactly find pleasant, "Shouldn't you be devastated that you flunked again, boy?"

He absolutely didn't want to look, but he turned anyway to see the black-hair and arrogant smirk of Uchiha Sachiko from the all-kunoichi class 6-G. She was a student that he'd had a rivalry with since the day he happened across her on the way home from his training on the week before he started going to school. It wasn't that he didn't like Sachiko, just that she was too stuck-up for her own good; claiming that her clan was the best in the world, and that men were beneath her. Since then, from that first time they'd met, she'd always reinforce her belief in male inferiority, and challenge him to a spar which he normally beat her at. It wasn't until she started bringing in kunoichi weapons and advanced jutsu that were taught to her that the matches started becoming more and more interesting (if not dangerous, given that he suspected the teachers were giving her special treatment). That, and she was getting better with each encounter.

"What's the matter Uchiha, you find your placement lower on the list?" It was true; normally Sachiko would've placed in the top five, due the fact that the teachers gave her preferential treatment enough to make things look believable. However, with Iruka practically cleaning house, Naruto noted that she was now in the mid-top 15 (she was #7 last he saw) kunoichi students.

"Take that back, Naruto-baka!" screeched a voice that Naruto knew all too well. It belonged a pink-haired girl in a red qipao with a horrid singing voice. This was Haruno Sakura, #2 on kunoichi list. This was a girl born to a male father, and a non-kunoichi mother with the ability to use chakra, and was considered a rarity due to the fact that she was a not a hermaphrodite. He never did understand what brought about her face-heel-turn, considering he'd befriended her not too long before she ran into Sachiko. Eh, none of his business;he supposed it was puberty driving her to even attempt to gain the affections of the Uchiha girl─which was tough, considering that she found men to be inferior to women, and girls born in relatively natural families were even lower on the rung. Although for some reason, she kept being nice to him despite her obsession over the Uchiha; which made things even more complicated when she said stuff like 'if you tell anyone I was ever nice to you, I will kill you'.

"Lay off him, Haruno! You may be one of the smartest girls in class, but you're still a weakling!" Naruto watched Sachiko and her posse turned to see around his age with shoulder-length red hair and steel-gray eyes looking on at them with crossed arms. She wore a blue beanie on her head, off-white cargo shorts, a skintight orange tank top with blue stripes, and a pair of armored bracelets. This was Harumi, who was still called the 'Dead Last' of the graduating kunoichi for her GPA landing dead-center in the list; she was the girl that was kicked out of her orphanage, and had moved into the apartment next door just a few days after he did. When he first met her, Harumi wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed; but who could blame her? She wasn't as lucky as he was in finding a place that actually educated him, and so he brought her up to speed and understood how frustrating it must have been for the nuns to teach him. But nonetheless, he'd successfully taught her the basics of what she was supposed to know before going to school, and she learned about as fast as he did (if not faster). He also brought her with him whenever he went out to train, and soon found himself a rather good training partner.

However, out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw that Harumi was not alone; because he saw an indigo bowl-cut framing a pair of white eyes that were peeking at him from behind Harumi's left shoulder. He recognized the girl as Hyūga Hinata─one of the heiresses of the Hyūga clan, and #3 for the kunoichi. The first time he'd met her, he and Harumi were walking down the street after some training, when they both saved her from bullies. Since then, it was no surprise that she gravitated towards Harumi, given that she'd comforted her after she was saved (not that he judged, given what he was taught about kunoichi girls in the temple); and yet, he sometimes also caught her gaze wandering in his direction, blushing every bit as much as she did around him as she did Harumi. "H-hello, N-Naruto-kun."

"Well, well, if it isn't the dead-last and her Hyūga minion!" said Sachiko, laughing at Harumi, "Are you still going to defend that boy? It is fitting, given that the both of you have the same score!" she then turned her attention back to Naruto. "And besides, what are you going to do, now that you graduated? Assuming you do have a post-graduation plan?"

"That's easy," said Naruto, "I'm going to be a martial arts master!"

"Ha! That's a laugh!" chuckled Sakura, "You? A martial arts master? Sachiko-chan has a lot more potential for that than you do! I mean, how are you even going to pull that off?"

"Okay, first thing, lay off on the trolling, Haruno─it makes you look stupid." began Naruto, earning a glare from Sakura, "Secondly, Sachiko and I have been fighting 500 times now, and she has yet to win a single match. And thirdly, I plan to travel the Elemental Nations, participating in every martial arts tournament I come across."

"And how did you come across the funding for such a trip?" challenged Sachiko.

"I've been saving up money for quite some time now, and have gotten around to filling out travel documents," answered Naruto, "I have enough money to go over to Suna and participate in that martial arts tournament. I'll even participate in underground ones along the way if I have to. Either way, I'm looking to hone my skills and become a master."

"Are you ever going to come home?" asked a concerned Harumi.

"Don't worry, I'll probably be back by the time the Chūnin Exams start." said Naruto with a smile, and a thumb up, "I heard whispers that there'll be an underground tournament when they do; and the first thing I'll do is visit everyone, you being among the first Harumi-chan…you too Hinata-chan."

Sachiko lifted her head up arrogantly, and started turning away. "Hmph! Like I'll ever look forward to your return! I hope you get crushed to death in one of those pit fights, you muscle-headed idiot!"

As he watched Sachiko and her fan-girl slave walk into the crowd, Naruto could only nod his head in exasperation. "I will never understand that girl."

"That makes two of us." added Harumi, looking on as the other fan-girls followed Sachiko. She then turned her attention back to Naruto. "So when are you leaving?"

"Within a week, but the tournament is in about three. I was thinking of waiting to graduate before I fill in the papers."

"B-b-but still, be careful Naruto-k-k-kun," said Hinata, trying to muster up the courage to speak, "I-I-I want you to come back alive."

"I will," he said, placing a hand on Hinata's head and rubbing it and causing the poor girl to turn red from embarrassment, "you two take care of yourselves while I'm gone!"

Nothing was said between the three of them. However, in a split second, Harumi and Hinata had moved around quickly to sandwich Naruto between them; both of them kissing him on the cheeks. It was then that the two of them released him, and Hinata went back to shielding herself with Harumi even redder than she was before. "Just make sure you come home in one piece," she said, "I want you to watch as I become the most badass Hokage in the world!"

With that said, both Hinata and Harumi left the area, leaving a wide-eyed Naruto behind. As he collected his thoughts he one thought on mind: _I wouldn't miss it for the world._

…

[Four days later…]

Naruto walked down the streets of Konoha with a bogu slung over his shoulder, wearing a baggy orange and blue tracksuit. He took a detour through a park to take in more sights. A lot of the villagers were not outright mean to him, but he could feel their glares; not that they mattered to him as much as the people that actually cared for him. A rare case of quality beating quantity he supposed.

The surprise farewell party that was held in this area of the park just two days ago was a very happy occasion that made it harder for him to leave. A good number of clan heirs had shown up for it; along with their parents. Everyone was there had given him gifts as a token of their friendship, and were also the road and currently sealed away in a scroll. As far as provisions were concerned, he was all set: Aburame Shino gave him a few jars of her clan's honey; Akimichi Chōko had given him three boxes of unopened MRE's that became obsolete after the recent invention of soldier pills; the Ichiraku family gave him a medical kit and a book of tickets for their ramen stand; Hinata had worked hard since graduation day to present him with a bottle containing healing ointment; and Inuzuka Kira had given him a wilderness survival kit should he be unable to find shelter in a town.

Aside from that, he was also given things for training: Harumi and Tenten had chipped in for a new set of fighting gloves; Lin had given him all of her old ankle and wrist weights as the new set Maito Gal gave her had adjustable gravity seals on them…and whose gift to him was a red hachimaki that was given to her by a woman she'd dated before going steady with her current girlfriend; Chiriku also came along, and gifted him with the wreath of prayer beads he was wearing now, with adjustable gravity seals on them to complement his weights.

This morning however, he'd found a good number of gifts that were at his doorstep, all of them tied together with a note in the Hokage's handwriting that said, 'good luck and be careful out there, Naruto-kun'. Before he walked out the door, he'd opened them and saw what they were: a survival that was given to him by Anko from the apartment across from his; an unnamed sender giving him a scroll with a road map, and another one giving him a froggy wallet large enough to fit all the ryo he'd saved up for this trip; and the gift that was given to him by Hokage baa-chan was a netsuke of a monkey that he now had attached to his bogu.

One package in that bundle however, had a crest of a circle with a vertical line going perpendicularly under it. The circle was divided by a line that made the top part of it into a red ellipse, and giving the impression of a fan. Naruto knew this was the Uchiha crest, because he'd seen it on Sachiko's back, and on the backs of many members of Konoha's military police. It was signed by Uchiha Mikoto and Itachi, both of whom were among the few Uchiha that were actually nice to him and Harumi. Uchiha Fubuki, the head of that house, was neither mean nor nice to them, but seemed to have a longing look in her eyes upon seeing them (especially Harumi); she was the reason why Sachiko had such a view on men, having a superiority complex around men to the point that she believed their only place in the world was to serve either as sex slaves or to be stuffed into kitchens and servant quarters. This train of thought would put the woman at odds with the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Mina.

Speaking of Uchiha, Naruto spotted Sachiko leaning against a tree. She had a fierce glare in her onyx eyes, silently snarling at him. He let out an exasperated sigh as he came to a stop in front of her. "What do you want now Uchiha?"

"I didn't think you were serious." she growled, "I mean, did you that I would let you leave this village without a scratch?"

"I honestly don't see how that's any of my business. And frankly, I don't care right now." said Naruto, "You've made it very clear that I'm beneath you, so why do you keep bothering to try and prove you're better me?"

"Shut up!" snapped Sachiko, pushing herself off the tree and walking towards Naruto, "I want you to fight me, you sorry waste of a life! You and me, here and now…if you want, you can think of it as a warmup for the matches ahead. But to make things more interesting, let's raise the stakes!"

"Now that's a first, what did you have on mind?" challenged Naruto, dropping his bogu off to the side and cracking his knuckles as Sachiko came to a stop in front of him.

"If I win, you will burn those travel documents of yours in front of me," began Sachiko as her skin reddened, whether from rage or embarrassment, Naruto couldn't tell, "and once you've done that, you're going come with me to the tannery to get yourself fitted for a slave collar! From then on, you will be at my beck and call! When I say 'lick my feet', you will do it with a smile! When I say 'clean my room', I expect to hear your moans of pain as you work all day and night to make it spic and span! When I tell you to 'spread your cheeks', you will bend over, take my entire length, and savor every drop!"

"That's a pretty big bet, but wagers never work unless it's both ways." said Naruto, not flinching for a second, though he mentally cringed at her last command (he'd heard the Sachiko fan girls tell stories about her length and girth), "So what do I get if _**I**_ win?"

"That'll be a surprise," smirked Sachiko, seemingly confident in her victory, "Now do we have a bet?"

"Sure thing. Usual rules?"

"And anything goes."

"Interesting as usual."

"Remember Naruto, you agreed to this; and I know that you're a man of your word."

{Play: "VCN Stage" by Hideyuki Fukasawa, "Street Fighter IV"}

With that said, the two fighters took a few steps back before slipping into fighting stances. The cool breeze of the wind signaled the start of the fight! Just as Sachiko was about to land a punch on Naruto, she was countered by a block, followed by a low sweep to her shin. Her answer was to use her leg to meet his leg sweep, stopping the momentum of both kicks, before bending backwards to throw Naruto into the air. Due to his training, Naruto managed to recover in midair just in time to perform a diving kick, attempting to stomp on Sachiko.

Sachiko leaped back, watching as the ground seemed to ripple upon impact with Naruto's foot before it turned into a crater. Not wasting an opportunity, he used his landing to transition into a jump-kick that had successfully hit Sachiko's solar plexus and allowing him to draw the proverbial first blood. As she was knocked back, Sachiko managed to recover enough of her strength to begin flying through hand-seals; by the time she'd landed, she'd completed the sequence and let loose a jutsu: "**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!**"

A large fireball had expelled from her mouth, flying towards Naruto. Once she'd finished with the jutsu, Sachiko was almost sad that she'd killed a potential slave; until she saw Naruto rushing her. In response, she started throwing kunai and shuriken in his direction in such a manner that they were all flying towards him. Naruto simply dove through an opening he saw before rolling on the ground, and before Sachiko could hop backwards, Naruto managed to get his footing back just in time jump in the air while performing an uppercut that caused Sachiko to flip over and fall on her front. "**Shoryūken!**"

However, it was clear that she absolutely refused to give up when she used her own weight to reorient herself in such a manner that she instead landed in a crouch, and planting a hand into the ground in an attempt to perform a sweep kick that Naruto jumped over. This gave her enough time to draw a kunai, and swipe it across his chest. He'd bent backwards just in time to avoid the surprise attack before coming to grapple with her. Seeing an opportunity, Naruto grabbed the hand holding the kunai by the wrist, twisted it, and moved in such a manner that he was now behind Sachiko while pressing down on her shoulder and causing enough pain to make her drop the dagger. "Give up?"

"Never!" Sachiko moved her leg up in an attempt to kick Naruto in the family jewels only for him to drop onto the ground in such a manner that she fell forward, and had both legs pinned to the ground.

"I may not have liked your guts, but I've always respected you as an opponent Sachiko," began Naruto, under Sachiko's grunts of pain, "and in all honesty, I think you're getting closer to beating me. So why don't you eat your slice of humble pie, and admit defeat?"

Seeing that his opponent had silently admitted defeat, Naruto released Sachiko from his hold and standing up. He then walked around and lifted her up. It happened in a split-second, but Sachiko pounced to pin Naruto to the ground and plant a fierce kiss on his lips. It took him a good few seconds to register that as her tongue took control of his, overloading his senses by her aggressive approach.

As soon as she broke the kiss, Sachiko stood up and wiped her mouth on her wrist. "Come back in one piece so I can try again," she said, "and if you tell anyone I ever kissed you, I will turn you into a woman and then rape you to death."

Naruto soon stood back up and watched Sachiko's back as she took to a running start before jumping into the trees at blinding speed. He had no idea what to say; one moment, him and the Uchiha heiress were at each other's throats, and the next thing she was being very passionate, before going back to her rich-bitch attitude.

Perhaps he'd talk with her about it as soon as he got back. But for now, Naruto was on the clock, and had to make it to the martial arts tournament in Suna. And it just so happened that she was right; that match was a pretty good warm-up for the fights to come. As he walked towards the gates of Konoha, showing his traveling documents, he was pumped up for more!

…

_**A/N: First steps to a journey for mastery of Shotokan.**_

…

_**Vocabulary**_

_**GPA Chart─this is actually done in Japan, where students look up at a chart to see where they placed on an exam. The higher your test score, the higher up the list you are. In this case, it's for the GPA.**_

…

_**Cameos/References**_

_**-None-**_


	3. Arrival

_**A/N: I do apologize for the short chapter; really I do. But I was rather anxious to submit this. In any case, do read and review would you kindly?**_

…

{Play: "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" by Cage the Elephant, from "Borderlands"}

[Sunagakure no Sato─two weeks later…]

It was a totally different place from Konoha as Naruto took in the sights of Sunagakure from his seat in the caravan. A lot of the buildings were round and bulbous, and the entire town had taken on a timeless golden color from the sand. All in all, a very beautiful place to live in; different from Konoha, but still rather beautiful.

A while ago, Naruto had stopped in a town on the way to this place to participate in the underground arena there. In exchange for some company, and a little bit of pro-bono bodyguard work, Naruto was given a free ride at the border between Hi no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni. Thankfully, he had his travel documents with him; some of the kunoichi at the border crossing seemed to be licking their lips upon seeing him. He had a feeling that if he didn't, they would have taken him to do who knows what to him.

He'd only hoped that this trip to Suna would not have people following him for grudges. The reason for this was because Naruto had crushed quite a few dojos on the way to this place, and he was not looking to have any grudge matches this soon into his path to being a renowned martial artist. Especially not from that one particular dojo he'd run into. Because his father was too old to take care of it, and his son was a businessman, the former owner willed it to his daughter. The style that dojo taught was called "Rindo-kan", and it was supposed to be the strongest martial art in the world.

The current owner saw him fighting in the streets, and treated him to a fast-food restaurant. After that, she insisted that he ate a few persimmons at her dojo, to balance out the junk food he'd eaten, telling him of why the place was a dump. The owner then ambushed him with a wager, having known of his reputation as a dojo-yaburi. She bet that if she beat him, his reign of terror would end, and he would have to not only be her first student, but pay her 400 ryo for the four persimmons she'd fed him. His counter-bet was that if he won, he would indeed pay for the persimmons, but her dojo would be his…and she would be free to challenge him whenever she liked to get it back.

Needless to say, he beat her and won her dojo. However, while he did pay for the persimmons (they were too good not to pay for), he chose to let her keep the dojo since he believed that was the only thing she had left of her dad. The last time he saw the girl, she was knocked out about six days ago. She was also being tended to by her grandfather.

Aside from that, he met quite a few interesting characters on the way here as well. Among them was a dark-skinned girl from a tribe that lived in Kaze no Kuni. She was scantily dressed in a white two-piece bikini, had white hair and blue eyes, and overall had a very joyful outlook in life. The girl fought exclusively with kicks, using a fighting style that resembled a dance. She also had the ability to heal herself. The end result of that fight was a draw, but they parted on good terms, promising to send pigeons to each other about their travels. '_Hmm,'_ he thought to himself, '_maybe I should do that as soon as I find a place to stay.'_

"Well, it's the end of the road, Naruto-san," said the driver, coming to a stop, "I hope you do well in the martial arts tournament here."

"Me too, Katori-san. Me too."

Naruto stepped off the wagon he was sitting on, and took his bogu with him. "So what are you going to do? The tournament doesn't start until four days."

"I don't know, maybe take a walk?"

"Good idea. Might as well take in the sights while you're at it. Well, good luck, Naruto-san. I wish you the best!"

A single lash was all it took for Katori to drive off, leaving Naruto to his own devices. As he took a look at his surroundings, Naruto found that he was in the urban district. According to what he'd heard, Sunagakure's main export when not in war was oil and minerals, as well as precious metals. All in all, it looked like the village was doing quite well, with rather high-quality kunoichi protecting the place.

As he walked on by, he noted a girl with red hair around his age was being surrounded by three kunoichi in a back alley. Something was off about that picture. The three kunoichi had murderous looks in their eyes, and all of them were brandishing kunai. The girl on the other hand, simply glared hatefully at the women, unaffected by their obvious intent to kill her.

"You will die today, demon!"

"Your days of terrifying the populace ends now!"

"The Kazekage will reward us handsomely for your death!"

Naruto walked into the alleyway, and cleared his throat, getting the kunoichis' attention. "I'm not sure about how kunoichi do things around here; but where I'm from, three people teaming up on one person is considered overkill."

"Shut up!" said the leader, "You have no idea what you're talking about! That demon's been killing people left and right since the day it was born; it deserves to die!"

"And besides, not even her mother wants her alive!"

Upon hearing that, Naruto frowned. He then dropped his bogu off to the side, and started cracking his knuckles and his neck. "Now that's not nice. I'm going to give the three of you a chance to back off and apologize to her."

"And what are you going to do about it if we don't?" challenged the leader

{Play: "Akuma" by Hideyuki Fukasawa, from "Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds"}

After Naruto was done stretching his legs, he then stomped on the ground, creating a small shockwave as he did so. As he slipped into a fighting stance, two of the kunoichi were given pause. "I'm not going to kill you, but I'll make you regret it. Now are you going to apologize to her, or do I have to beat you ladies up?"

"Ha! You and what army brat! You're just a boy! What can you do…" Before she could say a word, Naruto glided forward in a zen-like state, landed in a stomp, and smashed his palm down into the leader's chest, knocking her back and sending her to the ground. The first kunoichi to react was grabbed by the elbow, and then thrown into her charging colleague over his shoulder. The charging kunoichi simply sidestepped her colleague, managing to get in a swing only for Naruto to block and quickly follow through to punch her in the neck. He then uppercut her in the solar plexus, and then follow through with a jumping uppercut to the chin that sent the woman flying. "**Shin Shoryūken**!"

As soon as he landed, Naruto sensed someone behind him rushing in with the intent to kill. He managed to turn around at the last moment to stop the kunai trying to go down into his shoulder, before grabbing the kunoichi by the neck, and throwing her in such a manner as to smash her into the wall of the alley. As he pulled on the lapels of his jacket, he watched as the kunoichi fell ass-first into the open trashcan. This would be the second time he'd thrown this kunoichi around.

Instinctively, Naruto swerved to the side, caught an arm wielding a kunai, and twisted the wrist to make the last remaining kunoichi drop her dagger, before throwing her aside. He then saw that it was the leader of the kunoichi. "Are you still not going to apologize?"

"FUCK YOU, FREAK!"

At this point, Naruto was soon covered in a black aura that seemed to flicker furiously with his anger. "You should've just apologized."

He then took one leap forward, practically vanishing before the woman's eyes, only to reappear in front of her, grab her by the shirt, and then proceed to beat the daylights out of her. By the time he was done with the attack, Naruto had landed an extremely violent sixteen punches and kicks on the kunoichi leader, each hit getting harder and faster than the last while pushing her around. Once the last hit connected, she collapsed to the floor. "You'll live; you were only hit with a small fraction of my power," said Naruto, looking down upon the writhing form of the kunoichi leader, as she moaned in pain. As he spoke, his aura dissipated, but the anger lingered in his voice, "But I don't envy you the amount of pain you'll be in from now on. Be thankful I've stopped at crippling you for life."

Naruto turned his attention back to the redhead, and really took in stock of what he saw of her. She had seafoam green eyes that were widened in shock, with the kanji "愛" written on the upper-left corner of her face. Her clothes were black, and the hitai-ate she wore around her arm indicated that she too was a kunoichi. The strangest thing about her was that she had a very large gourd hanging behind her back. "Are you all right?"

The girl's look of shock had soon melted into indifference. "Why should you care?" she deadpanned.

"You were just attacked, and by your fellow kunoichi no less. Shouldn't that bother you?"

"There is no fellowship between me and those kunoichi. It's been like this since I was born. There have always been assassins after my head, ever since the Kazekage gave the order."

Naruto was shocked upon hearing that. "There's more? Then I will definitely make you a roommate."

"It won't matter. Nobody will take me in; and even if you do manage to find someone willing to accept you and take me in, the assassins will just find me again."

This really broke Naruto's heart. It was like the girl was dead on the inside. He wished there was…wait a minute, there was something he could do! "Quick question, you don't have a place to stay, do you?"

There was no response from the girl, but her curiosity was evident. "Why do you ask?"

"Why don't you stay with me? Since nobody's going to take you, and all these assassins are out to get you, I can at least keep a close eye on you."

"I'll pass. I already have a home."

He was not going to give up. Naruto was determined to put life back into this girl one way or another. "Will you at least humor me for a bit of tea?"

Naruto stood there, watching the girl expectantly; hoping she would accept. "Why not?" she finally asked, after a few seconds of consideration, "It's not like your taijutsu will be of any use against me. But I warn you; if this is a trick, then I will kill you."

"Fair enough."

As he turned to lead the way, Naruto suddenly paused. Upon suddenly realizing that he'd forgotten something, he slapped himself on the forehead. "By kami! In all the excitement, I'd forgotten! How could I be so rude?!"

"What now?" deadpanned the girl, as he turned to face her.

"I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Naruto…Uzumaki Naruto."

"Did your parents hate you?" asked the girl.

"I get that a lot," said Naruto, with a good-natured smile, "but it's actually written as 'maelstrom', not 'fishcake'."

"Whatever you say," she said, "my name is Gaara, by the way. Sabaku no Gaara."

"A pleasure to meet you, Gaara."

…

{Play: "Lakeside" by Daisuke Ishiwatari, from "Blazblue"}

[Meanwhile, in Konohagakure no Sato…]

Harumi sat around at the tea shop with her teammates, enjoying a cup of tea. After that incident with Mizuki, she was enlightened as to the reason why she was hated by a lot of the villagers: the Yondaime Hokage had sealed the Kyūbi no Yoko in her body. She then went to see Hokage-baa-chan about it, and learned that she wasn't the only one with the fox within themselves. Apparently, she was only carrying half of the fox: it's power to be more precise. The other half was sealed in someone else, and whoever it was was walking around with the fox's soul. Whoever it was, Harumi could only pity them for the life they may have had to live.

Naturally, she was to keep it top-secret, and she was not told as to who it was that carried the creature's soul. She did however, have her suspicions as to the identity of who it was. This was because she didn't tell baa-chan, that while stealing the forbidden scroll (because of Mizuki's false promises of getting her into a team of her own choosing), she found two birth certificates by accident. She'd seen that one of them had her name on it, as well as the names of two people that were her parents. She also noted that the second birth certificate had the same parents, and birth-date. Before she could find the identity of the person that the second birth certificate belonged to, the Hokage came, and the things went off from there.

It also made her suspect that this person whom that birth certificate belonged to could only be her sibling. To think, that her own flesh and blood would be out there somewhere; unaware that they had family. As she wondered about the identity of this person, she could only think of the days that could've been; and she also felt anger at baa-chan for not telling her she had a brother or sister. She supposed that she would have to confront the woman about it sometime, but for now, she had to establish herself as a reputable kunoichi. Not to mention a possible future with Naruto-kun in her life.

"You still thinking of that dunce, Dead-last?" came the voice of her teammate. Harumi grimaced in annoyance. While she did indeed like the fact that she was teamed up with Sakura, it wouldn't have been such a problem if she weren't teamed up with Sachiko. Give her Hinata-chan any day!

"What's it to you, bitch?" she asked.

"Watch your mouth around Sachiko-chan!" snapped Sakura.

"Nothing; it's just that it's fitting that the Dead-last wants that golden-haired dunce that badly!"

"Come again?!"

"I'm back!" said the voice of a masked jōnin, startling all three of the genin from saying anything else, "We have a new mission!"

This was not good. Ever since they'd been assigned to Hatake Kasumi, Team Seven had been doing a lot of low-ranked missions. This included weeding the Yamanaka house's garden, transporting heavy bags of rice, and even chasing after the Daimyo's wife's cat. The only question of it is, how bad could it be?

"Tora has escaped again."

Of course. It _had_ to be that demon-cat that belonged to Lady Shijimi. The only team that managed to catch Tora in record time was Team Eight; and that was because Tora seemed to really like Hinata-chan for some reason. To anyone else, Tora would fight and claw her way to freedom, no matter the cost. After seeing what Madam Shijimi did to the poor feline, it was no wonder she ran away quite often; and it was no surprise to Harumi that Hinata was the only person she seemed to like.

Team Seven sighed in depression. They had to be the team that caught the cat first, or else they wouldn't be paid. As she followed her team to help coordinate for the second attempt at catching Tora, Harumi silently reminded herself of the promise she'd made to herself. She'd vowed that she would one day find her brother or sister, and they would be a family. She would even break into the Hokage's office if she had to, if it meant having to go through that night again.

"Okay team," began Sachiko, "here's how we're going to do this…"

…

_**A/N: I wonder who recognized the cameos I've made here in this chapter?**_

…

_**Vocabulary**_

_**dojo-yaburi─a dojo-destroyer; they normally challenge entire dojos, wagering the dojo's signpost as a trophy, thereby stealing the dojo's name and honor.**_

…

_**Cameos/References**_

_**Guess for yourself**_


	4. Challenging a Kage

_**A/N: [Sigh] Seriously people, not cool. I'm all for giving negative reviews when it is necessary, and to be constructive, but I have a message to a particular guest on my story "Regalia" that said, "All your stories are horrible. Stop writing this crap." So thanks to him, I'm piloting the Strike Fighter of Anger, and drop a cluster bomb of brimstone and hellfire. And so to the guest who is too much of a coward to troll me with his/her own account, I say this:**_

_**FUCK YOU, you cowardly, insignificant BASTARD! WHO THE FUCK GAVE YOU THE FUCKING AUTHORITY TO TELL ME TO STOP WRITING, YOU LITTLE SHIT?! I'd like to see the shitty-ass credentials that gave you the right to tell me that my stories are all horrible! You wanna talk shit about my writing, then prove it to me! Show me that you're better than I am by telling me why you hate them! Be a man, and tell me what I've done to piss you off so badly and with your own account! Otherwise, EAT YOUR OWN SHIT, CHOKE TO DEATH ON YOUR OWN SHIT, COME BACK TO LIFE, AND THEN EAT SOME MORE OF YOUR OWN SHIT UNTIL YOU DIE AGAIN, YOU CHICKENSHIT, SHIT-EATING BASTARD! YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A SMALL, INSIGNIFICANT COWARD WHO CAN'T WRITE SHIT, DOESN'T KNOW SHIT, AND CAN'T READ SHIT IF YOU ARE TROLLING ME ANONYMOUSLY! NOW FUCK OFF AND DIE YOU ASSHOLE-SUCKING, SHIT-EATING, BASTARD CHILD OF A GOAT, SO THAT YOU CAN FUCKING REINCARNATE AS A CHICKEN THAT WILL ONLY EAT HIS OWN SHIT!**_

_**And let this be a warning to everyone who even thinks of trolling me. I will not tolerate negative comments that have no legitimate reason. So if you hate my writings so much, then do the smart thing, and don't read them at all. Don't be a fucking moron, and troll me just because you hate my writing.**_

_**To everyone else, I do apologize for the short chapter; really I do. But I was rather anxious to submit this. In any case, do read and review would you kindly?**_

…

{Play: "Clan Hyūga" by Toshiro Masuda, from "Naruto"}

[A park in Sunagakure no Sato…]

One would think that with its location in a desert, a park would be a very wasteful investment for Sunagakure no Sato. Normally, they would be correct; however, because there was a spring of groundwater below that ran to the ocean, the village could afford to sustain a park. The appearance of green trees and grasses, a working fish pond, and even a playground seemed to have no practical value whatsoever in a militarized village. However, it was rumored that the Kazekage herself only allowed the park to remain to keep morale high, and that she too enjoyed having a walk there from time to time.

Sitting at a table with an electric water boiler in front of him was Naruto, and across from him was the red-haired girl Gaara. It would be some time until the water was fully-boiled for the tea, and so he decided to drink in the sights around him. There was a wistful look in his eyes, as he watched children playing in the sandbox with parents watching over them kindly.

It was something Naruto had wished for even before he'd left Konoha. True, he had a healthy amount of kindness from much of the female population, and he supposed that Harumi was like a sister to him; but at the end of the day, what he truly wanted was a family where he had a father that could say he (or she, if it was a kunoichi) that he was proud of him, and a mother that would smother him with hugs and kisses. He even wanted a real sibling by blood to share things and get into fights with.

He was broken out of his reverie when he heard the sound of a fist hitting the table. "Huh? What?"

"Are you right in the head?" asked Gaara, finally breaking the silence. Her voice was the same deadpan as before, but Naruto thought he could feel the impatience in her tone.

"Sorry about that," he apologized, "it's just that I was looking at the families here. What were you saying?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for the martial arts tournament," he said, "I'm trying to be the world's best martial artist."

"Why?"

At this point, the beeping of the water boiler had signified that it was now time for tea. Naruto pulled out a pair of tea bags, and placed one in a cup in front of Gaara before pouring the water into the cup. "Honestly? I'm trying to test out my skills, see the world, and meet some really strong fighters. And what better way than to travel the world, participate in all their martial arts tournaments, and learn from every experience?"

"What makes you so sure you can learn from those experiences?"

"Because I am always learning. Everywhere I go, every fight I take part in always teaches me something new about myself and the people I'm fighting. That's what it means to live; always learning something new."

Gaara could only wonder as to what it was that Naruto was talking about. What did he mean by 'that's what it means to live'? Was he mad? Wasn't she already alive? "You've asked me a lot of questions, I think it's time for me to ask some of my own; like how come you've had assassins coming after you?"

"Because I'm an uncontrollable weapon."

It wasn't so much what she said, so much as it was the tone and the way in which it was said that Naruto felt like he was slapped in the face. "Care to explain?"

"The Kazekage had the Ichibi no Tanuki sealed within me," she explained, the deadpan in her voice not leaving, "she wanted me to become the village's ultimate weapon. In the end, the power had proven to be uncontrollable, and I wound up killing or injuring quite a few villagers. Because my powers could not be controlled, she has sent assassins to kill me many times."

"You don't seem too broken-up about it," said Naruto, taking a sip of his tea, "in fact, you sound like you _enjoy_ killing."

"Killing is but a means to an end," answered Gaara, as Naruto refilled both of their cups, "my 'mother', the Ichibi no Tanuki, always demands blood. But for me, it is a way of proving that I exist."

"And what happens if you kill everyone in the world?"

"Then I will be the only one to exist. Nobody will ever threaten me again."

"Then you're a fool." said Naruto, taking another swig at his tea. If the jab aimed at her had any effect, Gaara did little to show it. However, the cold rage in her seafoam eyes seemed to speak volumes of her anger. "Let's say, for argument's sake, that you did successfully kill everything in the world. What happens then when the world is nothing but a lifeless ball? Are you going to commit suicide because there's nobody left to kill? Are you that dense?"

"Watch your tongue around me," snarled Gaara, the sand starting to slither around the two of them, "I've been civil with you thus far, but you are testing your luck."

Naruto simply watched on as the sand started surrounding the two of them. Deep inside, he was frightened by what he was seeing, but he refused to cave in to fear. "Then humor me: What will you do when the world is completely empty?"

As Gaara considered the question, she began to wonder exactly what it was that her 'host' was asking of her. However, she remained silent.

"Gaara, I may not know you very well, but it's clear to me that you're not living; that you're dead inside for who knows how long, and it's making you go through all the motions in life. Apart from that, all you're doing with your time is murdering people left and right; and if you keep doing that, then what's left for you to do? Who will you have to talk to?" challenged Naruto, "I appreciate that you need to defend yourself, but that's not the way life should be lived! You should find something to live for, that would make you happy aside from murder. And above all, you should find someone that acknowledges you and loves you for yourself, instead of the monster sealed within. Because honestly? Life is too short to be walking through it alone."

"And what about you?" asked Gaara, "For you to say that, there are people you 'love'. If there are people who are that important to you, then why have you traveled here alone?"

Naruto snorted. "Of course you're right. I do have people I love back home. And as much as I want to protect them all, I want to prove to the world that I have the strength to return the favor. I want to prove to them that I will not be a burden to them, that I can protect myself and them. And that's the biggest reason of all that I'm out here…to earn the strength to protect everyone I care about."

The words had affected Gaara for some strange reason. The sandstone lump in her chest where her heart once resided seemed to be throbbing. It was slow, and faint, but for some reason, there were small pulses hard at work trying to burst free. However, her thoughts were interrupted when a gust of wind had blown in. It was here that she also noted that there was traces of gold dust mixed in with the wind.

{Play: "Evil" by Toshiro Masuda, from "Naruto"}

Coughing out the particulates as they flew around, Naruto took a look into his cup. Someone had blown sand into his tea. "No man could do what you did." said a very mature voice, catching his attention. Naruto found that this woman wore a set of black clothes like Gaara, and a condescending sneer on her face. Her spiky red hair was of a similar shade to Gaara's, but he had a pretty good idea who she was, given how similar she was to the girl, even in her early forties. "You made three jōnin-level kunoichi look like a bunch of minimum-wage bodyguards. Two of them will only be humiliated forever, but one is sitting in a hospital crippled for life with both shoulders broken, shattered ribs, a thoroughly broken leg, trauma, and a wounded pride. Now that is hurtful."

"Says the person that should've been taking better care of her daughter, regardless of what she has sealed inside of her." said Naruto, firing a glare in the woman's direction as he poured the tea into the ground. "What? Does your family mean so little to you that you would let her get killed? Honestly, Mother of the Year, you are not."

"Watch your tongue around me, boy," warned the woman, "I could call the guards to throw you in a cell. I hear that there are a lot of kunoichi prisoners who would love to get a fresh piece of ass to peg."

"And you should not be showing such hate to your own daughter for something that was the fault of your Kazekage. Doesn't she regret what she did to Gaara?"

The look of rage in the woman's eyes seemed to have subsided for a bit. However she seemed to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration. "You think that it was easy for her? Having to choose between her people and her family? I don't know her too well, but even I can see that she regrets what she did."

"And yet she's not doing anything to help the situation!" snapped Naruto, turning around to stand in front of Gaara's mother, "Instead of trying to find ways of helping her integrate into society, the Kazekage is just finding ways of killing her! She at least owes Gaara that much for all the trouble she's putting her through. If she'd been shown good and proper love from the very beginning, maybe she wouldn't be so hateful of the world! Even now, I'm pretty sure that she only sees Gaara as is a monster instead of a person that needs help."

Gaara watched as her mother looked at Naruto with a barely-contained sneer. "And what're you going to do about it?" she challenged, crossing her arms in front of her.

"I will take her out of the village," began Naruto, "I will show her all the things in life that are worth living for; the good and the bad. She will see everything in my travels to every martial arts tournament."

"And what makes you think the Kazekage is going to let you do that?"

"She's not going to let me, because I have a bet for her."

There was a fierce grin on her face as she looked on. It was clear in her eyes that she was more than interested. "Really? Do tell."

"It just so happens that I'm here in Sunagakure to participate in the martial arts tournament in a few days." began Naruto, taking a few steps forward before stopping to stand a few inches in front of the woman. "My challenge is that if I make it to the top, I will fight the Kazekage. The both of us will bring everything we have to the table in that match. If I win, then I get to take Gaara with me on my travels; which means, a travel pass and all the required documents filled out, and we both leave the village without a fuss. She can't send assassins after us, but she's allowed to send spies if it makes her feel comfortable."

Upon hearing the first part of the challenge, Gaara's mother nodded in agreement. As she took these words into consideration, people had gathered together to watch the entire exchange. "And if she were to win?"

"Then in addition to forfeiting the fight money to pay for the crippled kunoichi's health bill, my life is in the Kazekage's hands." answered Naruto. "She can do whatever the hell she wants with me: throw me in jail with a life sentence; have me executed on the spot; break my legs; turn me into her sex toy; hell, she could throw me in jail, break my legs, and _then_ knock herself up from raping my ass to death in a prison orgy. All in all, the ball is in her court as far as what she wants to do to me, should I lose."

"I will send her the message," she said, before turning to regard Gaara, "we are going home."

Gaara went to her mother, turning to face Naruto with a confused look on her face. The two of them vanished in a small sandstorm, leaving everyone standing around Naruto. With a sigh, he went back to the table, and continued to drink his tea. He'd have to step up his last-minute training regime if he was going to fight a kage-level kunoichi; and he knew just where to go…

…

{Play: "Sakura" by Toshiro Masuda, from "Naruto"}

[Konohagakure no Sato…]

It was a long day for Team Seven, having had to do even more chores. It was a good thing they'd managed to capture Tora on time, before anyone else could catch her. Harumi didn't care; she just wanted to go home to her apartment, take a shower, and then eat ramen…oh, damn it. Just another thing to remind her of Naruto-kun. She wanted to tell herself that he would be fine. Nothing to worry about. _Yeah, he's probably stuffing his face with ramen before his match!_

Just as she was ascending the steps to the apartment, something landed right in front of her. The cushion of air from the landing had enough force to knock Harumi back, and onto her ass.

"Gaki, you have to watch TV with me!" came the voice of a scantily-clad kunoichi in a trench coat. Her violet hair was done up in a pineapple-style do, and she wore a very frantic look on her face. Normally, Mitarashi Anko would be very happy and flirty, but this time, she was very serious.

"What's up?"

"Just come watch TV with me!"

At that, Anko grabbed Harumi by her aching shoulders, and shunshined the both of them into her apartment. Once they had arrived, Anko had thrown her onto the couch, and rushed over to the TV. She turned the knob, and it flickered into life. On the screen was a woman in a pink suit, straightening her pages out. "…and in other news, a boy has officially challenged the Kazekage Rasa to a duel in a martial arts tournament. Official sources say that the boy's name is Uzumaki Naruto, and that he'd come to the village of Suna from his home of Konoha to participate in the martial arts tournament there. News reporter Phoenix Wright is on site with the boy right now."

The camera changed to a man with a birdlike black hair. He wore a blue suit, and was holding a microphone. "Thanks, Rina. I'm here with Uzumaki Naruto in the middle of training right now, and he…oh my god! Is he moving that boulder around?!"

Sure enough, the camera was zoomed in on Naruto, dragging a large boulder through the ground. The thing was chained to his back, with enough slack to give him space to walk-well, if you called jogging slowly a walk. The entire crew moved in to get close to him. However, it was clear that the news crew was not going to have an easy time of getting an interview, as he was currently surrounded by other news reporters. Fortunately, the camera crew had managed to push through the crowd close enough to

"Uzumaki-san! Why are you doing this?!" asked a reporter.

"Is it true that you're doing this for the village Jinchūriki's sake?" asked another reporter.

"Uzumaki-san! A minute."

At this point, Naruto had stopped his jog. "Look, I'm doing this because the village's Jinchūriki has been abused for far too long. And in all honesty, I would say sending assassins on a daily basis is going way too far. The girl needs to be loved, not killed. So in a way, I'm doing this for everybody's sakes. That's why I can't afford to lose this bet."

"Uzumaki-san, what about the rumors that you've destroyed dojos on the way here?"

Naruto had turned from the camera, and grabbed the chains that were tied to the boulder. "It was just training…which is what you're all disturbing right now. Now if you'll all excuse me, I've got to finish off my exercises here, then to go to an underground fighting arena to finish off."

Before anyone could say a word, Naruto had pulled the chain and managed to lift the boulder above his head. He then set it in such a manner that it was above his body, resting on the back of his neck and his shoulders, before he started doing squats. "Well Rina, back to you."

The camera cut back to the woman in pink. "Thank-you Phoenix. Apparently the wager of the match is that if Naruto wins, he gets to take the Jinchūriki with him in his travels. If he should lose, then the Kazekage is free to do with him as she wishes. Responses worldwide seem to dismiss Uzumaki as a fool, but one thing is for sure: this will be a fight to remember…"

The sounds of the TV were drowned out to Harumi. Anko seemed to be in the same boat, as neither had words for what they'd just seen. There was no doubt in their minds that this was a fight to remember. "That idiot," said Anko, breaking the silence, "that crazy fool. He's going to get his ass beaten down. If not by me, then by Hokage-dono."

"I think he's too far away for that," replied a dumbfounded Harumi, "but I think it's sweet what he's trying to do."

"Sweet, but risky. I'd hate to think of what the Kazekage will do to him if she wins."

{Play: "Heaven-Shaking Event" by Takanashi Yasuharu, from "Naruto: Shippūden}

"We've got to have faith that he'll win. If not, then who is going to cheer for him when nobody else will?"

Anko sighed in resignation…shortly before it became confident once again. "You know something? You're right. Someone needs to cheer the lunkhead on. I can always kill him for his guts later."

The two of them said nothing as Harumi left the apartment. One thing was for certain, that they agreed with Rina on: they would be changing the channel to Naruto-kun's matches!

…

_**A/N: I wonder who recognized the cameos I've made here in this chapter?**_

…

_**Vocabulary**_

_**-none-**_

…

_**Cameos/References**_

"_**No man could do what you did…now that is hurtful"─modified from "Thor"**_

_**Phoenix Wright**_


	5. Training

_**A/N:**_

_**Kurogane7: Okay, now this is definitely not cool. "Your stories ARE pretty bad. All I got from your rant is that you're immature." And this is a review I got on this very story before I deleted it.**_

_**I will say this to the guest reviewer that just said this on "Bare-fisted Kitsune", that's too chicken to troll me with his own account: If you're going to say bad things about my writing, at least have the decency to explain yourself, or to tell me so with your own account. The fact that you don't even want to give me a detailed explanation as to why you dislike my writing tells me you're just a cowardly bully that gets his/her jollies from saying bad things about other people.**_

_**That aside, I will tell this to all of you guest reviewers who think you can get away with trolling me: don't bother. I will find your review, it will be deleted, and you shall be impaled and roasted like a particularly sour marshmallow. And you will look like the idiot that you are.**_

_**UO1991: To the troll who is afraid of his own shadow: As a fellow author I seek the same thing as my partners. A good review to tell me what I am doing right and what I need to work on.**_

_**That said, outright stating that an author's ideas are stupid and calling him immature just means you have no perspective. So you used the Guest moniker to get away with calling these stories bad. I bet you think it's easy to create stories. It isn't; most authors do it in their free time and it's hard to come up with ideas for fics, let alone original stuff. And then people like you criticize it and a weaker author might quit. So here's an idea, why don't you create your own work and see how people treat your stories. In my eyes if you don't have an account you have no right to criticize.**_

_**I do not tolerate bullying and I don't tolerate trolls. If you feel the need to attack one of my pals, all I have to say is BRING IT!**_

_**SIgned: A very angry Osprey**_

_**NSG: Dear anonymous: if you think the above is excessively wrathful, then I'm sorry to inform you, but you've fucking brought it on yourself. If you don't have the decency to at least post a review with an account, then you'd better be ready to be roasted publicly. To believe otherwise is the height of foolishness, which none of us will abide. I don't have patience for it on my fics and I won't tolerate it on KG's stuff either. You talk more shit, you get more rants. That's how this whole arrangement works. We may not have started this fecal maelstrom, but we're sure as hell gonna get the last word in.**_

_**Kurogane7: To everyone else, do read and review, would you kindly? (NSG: Rofl XD) (UO: Damn Right *Claws at the ready)**_

…

{Play: "The Circuit" from "Street Fighter III: Third Strike"}

[Underground Fighting Arena, Sunagakure no Sato─night…]

The crowd cheered as two opponents fought it out in the arena. One fighter was a wall of muscle, with long, golden hair held back by a red bandana, and tied up into a ponytail using a small, red hairband. He was shirtless, but wore green cargo pants and fingerless gloves, leather boots, and seemed to be nearing his thirties. Overall, he had the walk and swagger of a man that had been in the military, if the scars going down from his shoulders were any indication

He was wrestling an opponent was larger and more muscular than he was. The man had a brown beard and mohawk, and thick chest-hair. He wore nothing but a pair of red speedos and boots, which exposed his scars to the world. Some of the scars were proof that he'd wrestled with bears.

The smaller wrestler had managed to push his opponent away before reeling back to strike! "_**Flash!**_" His attack had the effect of spinning his opponent around as he moved forward. The second he saw that his opponent's back was to him, he began to finish off his opponent.

"You can't escape!" he shouted, before performing a German suplex on his opponent. He then rolled backwards, and performed a second German suplex on his opponent. The small wrestler finished off his combo by leaping into the air. "_**HYPER-BOMB!**_" As soon as he landed, he smashed his opponent onto the mat.

"TKO! The Red Cyclone of Tetsu no Kuni, Zangief, has been defeated! The winner of this match is…" called out the announcer, allowing the cheering of the crowd to flood the arena, "ALEX!"

Alex stood over his opponent, looking down upon him with a bit of contempt. "At ease, loser."

As he walked towards the edge of the arena, Alex was greeted by three other people. All of them blond, and all of them in tactical clothing. One of them was a man in a green tank-top and camouflage pants over leather boots. He had a very aquiline appearance that was complemented with his muscle-mass, and had an odd variation of a crew-cut that got broader as it got higher up. He also wore a set of dog tags around his neck with the Suna crest on them.

Another person had dark green pants and boots, and was shirtless save for the orange tactical vest he wore. He wore a pair of small glasses and a set of Suna-dog tags. He wore a serious expression, and his hair was done in such a way that it dangled in front of him. Overall, his appearance painted the picture of a sophisticated warrior-poet that was equally at home with reading a book as he was kicking ass.

The final person was a woman in a green, one-piece bikini with green scar-like war paint decorating her bare and clean-shaven legs, a red beret, leather boots, and a pair of red fighting gauntlets. She had a modest-sized bust, and her long hair was tied up two pigtails behind her head. Another feature that described her was that there was a scar on the lower-left corner of her face.

"It seems that Team Patriot has been owning the competition tonight!" called out the announcer, "These local fighters have been supporting the kunoichi of Sunagakure, and are trying to earn money to help alleviate the financial troubles around here with their prize money! But wait! We have a guest fighter tonight, ladies and gentlemen! And he threatens to make this night even more entertaining!"

The spotlights turned towards the steps, revealing a blond boy in a tracksuit descending them. He had a bogu slung over his shoulder, and he was currently wearing fighting gloves on his hands. "Our guest tonight is the boy who had the audacity to challenge our Kazekage in the martial arts tournament in a few days! He's crushed multiple dojos on the way here, and looks like he's here to get in some last-minute practice. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you…the dojo-destroyer, Uzumaki Naruto!"

Without preamble, Naruto simply walked onto the mat while dropping his bogu off to the side. He cracked his knuckles while stretching his neck. "I hope you four can give me a good fight."

"Ha! This'll be easy!" scoffed Alex, "The match will be over, and then we can show the kid his place!"

"You wanna bet, muscle-head?" asked Naruto, slipping into a fighting stance, "If you want, I'll fight you first."

Alex simply sneered. "Your funeral, kid! And just so you know, I don't lose!"

…

{Play: "Poison" by Hideyuki Fukasawa, from "Ultra Street Fighter IV"}

[Konohagakure no Sato─the next day…]

Ever since Naruto's declaration to challenge the Kazekage, the villagers had been placing bets on whether he'd win or not. A good number of them had bet against him, while the few who had faith in his victory bet in his favor. The biggest bet of them all went to Harumi, who wagered that he would defeat the Kazekage in what she predicted would be the most epic fight of them all.

At the moment, she kept her television set on the news channel, hoping to find any updates on Naruto's training. "This just in! Uzumaki Naruto has been spotted in an underground fighting arena, fighting with the runner-ups to the prize money. Team Patriot had fought Uzumaki Naruto one at a time, and had lost each round they went up against him."

Upon hearing that, Harumi made a break for her living room, hoping to catch Naruto in the action. She watched as Naruto was in the middle of a fight with a blond man with a red headband, and scars on his body. After successfully landing a punch in his opponent's face, Naruto was grabbed, and then thrown to the mat. As his opponent leaped into the air, Naruto rolled away just in time to avoid getting stomped, before sweeping his leg around to trip his opponent up. He then wound up and managed to kick his opponent low, then middle, then high three times, before finishing off the match with a move she knew as the "_**Tatsumaki**_".

"_**Shippū Jinraikyaku!**_"

The fighter was kicked a multitude of times by Naruto performing a spin-kick that lifted the two of them into the air. By the time the combo was finished, the fighter named Alex was kicked out of the ring.

…

[Somewhere in Kaminari no Kuni…]

A woman with feathered, fuschia-pink hair sat in front of the television set against a wrestling ring, watching in interest with cyan eyes as the fights on the news went on. She wore a small white tank-top, dark blue cap and short-shorts, a leather wristband and collar, a metal bracelet, high-heels, and handcuffs. She had a generous bust, a slight six-pack, and powerful arms and legs.

Uzumaki recovered from a kick to the chin from his opponent Nash's backflip attack. "_**Somersault Kick!**_" He then landed a straight punch to the man's face, pulled his opponent in by the dogtags, held him with both hands on his elbows, and threw him straight up into the air. He finished the fight when he wound himself up, and performed a vertical spinning kick that hit Nash many times before he was thrown to the ground from the impact. "_**Tatsumaki Gou Rasen!**_" Upon finishing the combo, Nash had hit the ground with a resounding crash. Uzumaki soon landed on both feet.

"Hmm, not bad," she said to herself, very impressed with the boy, as he began his fight with his next opponent, "win or lose, that boy has a lot of talent and hard work behind him. With him in our ranks, we can take the martial arts world by storm!"

"You think we can get to him before someone else does, Poison?" asked a large man sitting next to the woman. He was a wall of muscle that had curly black hair and slate-gray eyes, and wore a pink leopard skin tank-top and pants, large chains on his belt, a pair of studded black leather wristbands, and brown leather shoes. "The way I see it, if he manages to beat the Kazekage, he's going to have a lot of attention on him by a lot of people. Hell, if that happens, I'm pretty sure even Rolento's going to hunt him down to try and recruit him…because let's face it, there's no way he's not going to be watching this either."

"Oh Hugo, ye of little faith!" teased Poison, "Of course someone else is going to have a chance to get him; which is why we're going to Sunagakure as soon as possible!"

"You're not serious are you?" asked Hugo, looking down at his friend, "his match is in three days. We won't have much a chance to catch him even if it is possible; we'd barely be at his heels."

Before she could come up with a retort, Poison took a moment to think. She then sighed in depression. "I guess you're right." she admitted, before she had another idea in her mind. "Which is why we're going to set up shop in Konoha instead!"

"Eh?"

"Think about it! Uzumaki looks like he's one of those travelling masters, but even _he_ has a home he eventually has to go back to. Plus, we can own the underground fighting arena in Konoha so that we can really set a trap! And in the time it takes to get back to Konoha, you can train to take him on!"

Hugo took a moment to consider what it was that his friend was saying; this was an opportunity to get a new fighter in their ranks before anyone had a chance to do so. Plus, it would give him much more time to train and prepare for better fights in the future. And even if that failed, then they owned a new fighting arena where the future victor over the Kazekage had fought would give them better revenue. Before he could say anything on the matter, Poison had raised her hand to silence him while turning up the volume. "After the matches, Uzumaki gave the prize money to Team Patriot to support their cause. His exact words on the matter were: 'Sunagakure needs this money more than I do. Besides, I've got all the training I need from tonight's fights. Hopefully it's good enough practice for what's to come.' Uzumaki has set up camp in the outskirts of town, citing that because the Hotels refused to serve him for challenging the Kazekage and standing up for their Jinchūriki, he was fine with camping outside the village. The Hokage has reportedly asked to come view the fights herself, to which the Kazekage has agreed…"

Upon hearing that line, it was clear that their opportunity had come. "Pack your things Hugo, we're leaving for Konoha now!" said Poison, with a beatific grin on her face. "In the meantime, get yourself ready. This kid could be _real_ big!"

…

{Play: "Awakening (Gui Boratto Remix)" by Gui Boratto, "Halo 4"}

[The outskirts of Sunagakure no Sato─two days later…]

From the distance, one could see a boulder being dragged across the desert as Uzumaki Naruto had it chained behind him. He was making his rounds, dragging the boulder for an hour to increase his stamina. He then had to do his squats, presses, and his other exercises before he took the rest of the day off tomorrow to rest. It was hard work, but he had to do it if he wanted to stand a chance against the Kazekage. There was no doubt there would be more news reporters waiting for him outside his tent.

Come to think of it, some of the questions really hit him hard; the biggest of them coming from a particular reporter that was persistent enough to find and interview him as he was pulling the boulder. _What was her name again? Oh yeah! It was Lane!_

The news reporter, a Ms. Lane, had managed to ask him a few questions yesterday regarding the Jinchūriki, and what he thought of them. He answered honestly that what Sunagakure's Jinchūriki had been going through was not so different from the way he grew up; only much worse. He gave a description of the glares he'd been given while growing up, as well as the sabotage he'd had from teachers that hated his guts. All in all, he showed that he had a very good idea of what kind of life a Jinchūriki led from first-hand experience. He even remembered what he said to her as soon as he managed to get back to his tent:

"I tell you Lane-san, it's not even funny how badly Jinchūriki are treated. I mean, people seal these big-ass chakra monsters into their bodies, and you'd think they would be thankful, right? Instead, they're treated like the plague. Seriously people, treat your Jinchūriki better. I'm not saying you should spoil them rotten, I'm just saying that you should treat them like your equals; you should treat them like you would a daughter, a sister, a mother even. At the very least, be thankful that they're even helping you to stop those chakra-monsters from killing every one of you; just don't think for a second that they deserve any worse treatment than you do. I know I wouldn't want bad stuff happening to me, so why should you do it to your Jinchūriki? What's the point? All you're doing is shooting yourself in the foot, and making the Jinchūriki hate you so much that they'll want to release that monster on you. And so I beg of you people, treat them better and love them with all your heart so that they will love you in return; don't let this relationship you have with your Jinchūriki end in disaster."

As he thought back on that reporter yesterday, he swore he could feel someone hugging him from behind. _Was it something I said?_ Naruto decided to save that thought for later, as he saw his tent get closer. However, there was someone waiting for him outside his tent: there was a familiar set of white robes with a red and white cap with the character "火" embroidered upon it, with four masked figures with beige hooded robes flanking that person. _What is she doing here?_

Naruto took off the chains and ran to his grandmother-figure. "Baa-chan!" he called out, hugging the elderly woman by the waist. "It's been a while!"

"I've missed you too, Naruto-kun," said Harumi, stroking Naruto's hair tenderly.

Naruto pulled away from the Hokage briefly to have a better look at her. "What are you doing here, Baa-chan?"

"I'm here to watch your match," she said, "I wanted to be there to support you."

"Are you sure you're not just doing that to escape the paperwork?" he asked, teasingly.

Hiromi could only scratch the back of her head in embarrassment. "Well, you caught me."

There was a playful kind of chiding in Naruto's expression. He then face-palmed himself as soon as he remembered something. "Oh my god! I forgot!" He pulled out his a scroll from his bogu, bit his hand, and swiped it over a particular line, summoning forth a chair. "Please, have a seat!"

"No, I think I'm fine standing," she assured.

"But I insist!"

Letting out a sigh, Hiromi knew she couldn't win this. "All right then. I'll have a seat."

"So what brings you here, baa-chan?"

Hiromi seemed to pause for a moment, as though considering her words carefully. "Naruto-kun, are you absolutely certain that you want to go through with this challenge you issued to the Kazekage?"

"I am, why do you ask?"

"Aren't you afraid of what's going to happen if you lose?" she asked, still very worried for the boy.

"Would you relax, Baa-chan? I have a few secrets up my sleeve should it come to that," said Naruto, "Besides, even if I lose, I still won't go back on my promise. I promised myself upon meeting the Jinchūriki that I would help her learn to live so that she'd have something to actually fight for; to be a better person for it. I absolutely refuse to go back on that promise, so if I have to help her as a slave, then so be it."

"And what about the other Jinchūriki in the world who are suffering the same kind of abuse?"

"If that's what it comes down to, then I'll fight for all the Jinchūriki. Because if nobody fights for them, then who will?"

Upon hearing this, Hiromi could not help but have a softened look on her face. On the one hand, she was proud of Naruto; but on the other, she was frightened for him. "Are you sure I can't talk you down from this?"

Naruto had a confident grin on his face. "I'm sure."

…

[Somewhere in Sunagakure…]

The walk into the village of Sunagakure was a very silent affair. The people of the village had bowed down before her respectfully. They had a luxury hotel room reserved just for them, and there was no rush to get there.

"Hokage-sama, aren't you going to try to bring him back?" asked an a snake mask, whispering quietly.

"What can I do?" she asked, "There's no way I can talk him out of this."

"But you do realize what he has in him don't you? He's too important to the village to let go. Too important to…well, let's just say he's too important to lose."

"You think I don't know that? He won't come back to the village willingly, no matter what I do."

"And if he loses his match?"

Hiromi knew what she had to do. Naruto was way too important to Konoha to lose. "If that happens, then we still have _that_ contingency."

"Understood. But still, do you even plan on telling him the whole truth?"

"He's not ready for it, Hebi," she said, "I doubt he ever will be. But fate has always had a habit of proving people wrong…so I guess we'll have to wait and see."

"Even about his sister?"

"Even about that."

…

_**A/N: Oh dear…what contingency does Hiromi have in place?**_

…

_**Vocabulary**_

_**-none-**_

…

_**Cameos/References**_

_**Street Fighter:**_

_**Charlie**_

_**Guile**_

_**Alex**_

_**Cammy**_

_**Zangief**_

_**Poison**_

_**Hugo**_

_**Superman:**_

_**Lois Lane**_


	6. Quarter Finals: First Matches

_**A/N: You can thank Banjo the Fox for giving me complaints on the shortness of my chapters here. Therefore, I will make a pledge to my readers: from this point on, aside from pilot episodes, I will not make my chapters any less than 4-5k words long (depending on how eager I am to submit a chapter). Also, to all people who would try to bully me as a guest reviewer, you have been warned; you will be ignored from that point on, and you will look like the idiot that I know you are, as I delete your review. Other than that, do read and review, would you kindly?**_

…

{Play: "Fighter Select Theme" from "Street Fighter II"}

[Sunagakure Martial Arts Tournament─After the Preliminaries]

The sound of cheering could be heard throughout the stadium as everyone watched the fights go on. This was the day that the martial arts tournament would begin, and it would test the skills of martial artists from all over the continent. It was an especially important day due to the fact that it would be Uzumaki Naruto's acid test to see if he would be able to take on the Kazekage.

Naruto had been training hard the past few days, doing his exercises and going back to the underground fighting arena; taking only yesterday off to rest up in preparation for today. He'd just gone through the preliminaries, and it was very disheartening. Every martial artist so far that had been set up to fight him either surrendered, or went down without much effort on his part. Even though he beat some of them very easily, he could see and feel the amount of hard work that had been put into their training. Luckily, this meant that when the matches began seriously, he was likely to be guaranteed a place among the top eight fighters to be going in immediately for the quarter-finals. Normally he'd have to be among sixteen fighters, but it was very likely the Kazekage was anxious to fight him, but still wanted him to prove himself; so she asked the judges to skip to the quarter-finals and choose eight fighters.

There was only one person among the idiots Naruto had beaten relatively easily in the preliminaries that earned a modicum of his respect: the brown-haired guy in the pink dōgi that spent more time trash-talking and making funny poses, than he did fighting seriously. _What was his name again? That guy who practiced "Saikyō-ryū"?_ he asked himself, _Mon? Ton? Oh yeah! It was Dan! Hibiki Dan!_ In all honesty, Naruto thought that Dan had no chance of making it past the preliminaries. He was proven right when he literally kicked Hibiki out of the arena in fifteen hits. The man was louder than Lin-chan back home, but he had the same attitude (which he respected to a degree); the problem was that he was mostly talk, although if he was able to last fifteen blows from Naruto, then he had a bit of his respect. That, and the guy had managed to land in some sneak-attacks that almost made it past his defenses, which gave him another coin in the 'respect' bottle. _Maybe I can try that on low-tier fighters._

Right now, he was waiting to see the results on the screen. He knew there were quite a few people that had promise; among them being the lady from Iwagakure, the boxers, that hot redhead. He didn't know who else would make it to the top with him, and he was tense as the computer was going through the names. Eventually, his name came up first, and then the chart was finally set up:

Kanzuki Karin

Chun-Li

Balrog

Makoto

Crimson Viper

Dudley

Uzumaki Naruto

Fei Long

"Wait a minute, Makoto-san is here?" he asked himself. Naruto then watched on the screen as the matchup chart appeared, with eight names starting to roll through. As soon as the names came to a stop, saw how it would be arranged: he would be fighting the Kanzuki girl, then the winner would be fighting either Dudley or Balrog as both fights took up the left side of the chart. On the right side, Makoto's opponent was Fei Long, and Chun-Li was fighting 'Crimson Viper' .

Naruto knew of some of these fighters. Fei Long was famous worldwide as a martial artist that also worked as an actor; he was Rock Lin and Maito Gal's inspiration to become the hard-working kunoichi they were today (and admittedly, even he found the guy to be really cool). He'd started off his career as a martial artist from a backwater in Hi no Kuni when he was age six, and gradually started doing stunt double work. Eventually, Fei Long participated in a number of martial arts tournaments, allowing talent scouts at his studio to finally see the true extent of his skill and talent. Now, he'd become a self-made man that had a fan following for his action movies (Naruto had heard of a collaboration in the works between him and Fujikaze Yukie), doing his own stunts, and for being a good person on and off the camera. _Maybe I can get an autograph from him later._

Dudley was a large, dark-skinned boxer with a small and neatly-combed crop of black hair on his head and a thin, curly mustache from Kaminari no Kuni. He wore a pair of green pants and suspenders, a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, and blue boxing gloves. The man came from a wealth family, and had been lauded as the boxing champ of Kaminari no Kuni due to his stellar record. In spite of that, Naruto could see that the man had plenty of experience, and he was very skilled; all he needed was a few seconds to see how Dudley carried himself. _I wonder how well I'll do with that guy as my opponent._

Dudley's opponent was also a dark-skinned boxer, only from Tsuchi no Kuni, and wearing a blue tank top and trunks, as well as red boxing gloves and shoes. Balrog's muscles and height had placed him as a heavyweight boxer, and it just so happened that he was king of Tsuchi no Kuni's pro-boxing world before he was kicked out for misconduct, which allowed him to begin his reign of terror in Tsuchi no Kuni's underground boxing rings. If he were ever to fight in a sanctioned boxing match, then he'd be disqualified immediately for his excessively violent nature. _No way in hell am I losing to that scumbag_

Kanzuki Karin was pretty much a girl he knew nothing about. She was a blond, teenage girl with brown eyes that had her hair done up in ringlets (two bangs were in front of her head like antennae), and was dressed in an all-red sailor suit, contrasted only by a blue bow that held up four of her ringlets behind her head, and a blue scarf. Judging by her pale complexion, the snooty way she carried herself, and the presence of what looked like a pudgy manservant at her side, she was from a rather high rung in society. However, he could also sense that there was something more hidden away in her snooty attitude. _She looks like a rich bitch, but I'm not going to take her lightly_.

Naruto was familiar with Makoto, because she was the girl that he had defeated once near the border of Hi no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni; the one with the dojo that was in disrepair with the persimmon tree. She wore a plain white dōgi with a black belt over what looked like a red sport top that held back her bust. Her short, unkempt black hair gave her a boyish look, and she wore a yellow scarf around her neck. He knew this, because he was looking at her right now; and she returned the glance with an angry look that said 'I am so gonna kick your ass!'. After that last fight the two of them had, he knew not to trifle with her. _I wonder what the hell she's so mad about…I mean, I __**did **__give her back the dojo, didn't I?_

The other two, Chun-Li and Crimson Viper were obviously older women, with bodies that seemed to scream MILF, especially with their alluringly slender and curvy figures. The former was a woman with buns in her hair, wore white boots, spiked gauntlets, and a blue qipao modified for fighting and that showed her very powerful legs. The other had red hair that was slicked back and tied up in a long ponytail to give a serpentine appearance; she wore a pair of yellow sunglasses, a black suit and gloves, a small necktie, and a small white shirt that was buttoned down in such a manner as to expose her cleavage. Other than that, Naruto had no idea what to make of them, other than the fact that they carried themselves as very capable martial artists. Well, more so Chun-Li than Ms. Viper, who seemed to be the type to rely more on cunning to win her battles. _I'd better be on my guard if I'm going to be fighting either of them._

"Dudley and Balrog, would you please come down to the arena?"

…

{Play: "Dudley" by Hideyuki Fukasawa from "Street Fighter IV"}

[Kaminari no Kuni]

"Hey-o, nee-chan!" rapped a large, dark-skinned woman in sunglasses and a bandana, her voice carrying through to the Raikage's office over the rattling of weights being pressed, "Rest easy, your heart! 'Cause the first fights are about to start!"

A larger woman with an even darker skin had walked out of her personal gym to her couch with a shaker full of soy protein in her hand. Today was the day that the martial artists over in Sunagakure would be fighting in the quarter-finals, and just in time too; she'd just finished her workout for the day. She was a veritable wall of muscle for a woman at about 43 years of age. She was chunkier than other women due to the years she'd spent pumping iron, but she still had a lot of feminine curves to her body, made even clearer with her firm and overly generous bust being held back by a white sport top that revealed her six-pack. She wore black lipstick, a golden belt with a Komainu motif on the buckle, and had her cream-colored hair done up in a variation of the omega hairstyle. "Can you go a day without that horrible rapping, B?" she asked in irritation.

The woman named as B was 36, and was a bit shorter with a slightly brighter complexion, had more pronounced curves, and she wore a slightly more modest outfit consisting of a flak jacket, and dark pants. Her bandana also happened to be her hitai-ate, and she had a very humorous grin on her face. "C'mon, neechan! No need to be like that!" she continued to rap, "Besides, your favorite fighter is on!"

"Ooh, now that _is_ something I want to see!" The older woman had let out a small burst of speed as she wanted to catch this fight. She'd made it just in time to see a fight between two dark-skinned boxers; one with blue boxing gloves and a gentlemanly disposition, the other a thuggish man with red gloves. The reason she was so anxious for this fight was because Dudley, the boxer with the blue gloves, was her favorite. In fact, it stood to reason that A, the Yondaime Raikage, was a major boxing fan; especially for Dudley, who was the superstar from her own country. His gentlemanly behavior, professional conduct, and stellar record were what endeared him to her, and turned her into a fangirl for him.

She then noted that he was fighting a rival from Tsuchi no Kuni: Balrog. Oh, she knew who he was; because A also followed news from the underground as well. The man was a disgrace for his excessive violence and allegations of murder; but he wound up being crowned king of the underground boxing circuit. Either way, his match against Dudley was one people were waiting for.

There were stark differences in the way the two men fought. Balrog was well-known as a heavyweight boxer that relied upon brute force and cheap shots to win his matches. This was shown in his attempts to rush his opponent, and attempt to land a surprise uppercut on Dudley's chin. When that failed, and Dudley managed to back away just in time, he continued the rush to try a headbutt.

Dudley on the other hand, used his size and strength wisely, trying to gauge and calculate the best method of attack. Whenever he could, he countered with a punch to soften the opponent's defenses, but most of the time he dodged Balrog's wild attacks. There were few times when Balrog was able to land a hit, but he made sure that he was paid back with interest. When he saw an opportunity to counter, Dudley reared back, and landed an uppercut below Balrog's chin that sent him flying. "_**Rocket Uppercut!**_"

However, the main reason she was watching the fights was because of that boy that had the audacity to challenge the Kazekage. B would not stop gushing about Uzumaki Naruto, and his stance that Jinchūriki should be treated better; A on the other hand had other motives. Because of this male martial artist calling out the world on the treatment of Jinchūriki, the media was having a field day. This was helped by the fact that many kunoichi wanted to see him put in his place for even challenging a Kage. Granted, A was one of those people that wanted to see him broken down into nothing short of a slave-boy, but another part of her believed that he could very well have the ability to pull victory out of the jaws of defeat.

But for now, she watched as the boxing match between the two pugilists went on. Balrog charged Dudley, attempting to land an uppercut when his opponent when Dudley managed to swerve backwards, and counter the attack with a straight punch to Balrog's face. But he wasn't done yet, as he landed a small burst of fast and hard-hitting punches on his opponent before reared back and punched Balrog with a heavy punch that knocked him back and caused his whole body to spin clockwise in midair. Dudley finished off the fight by chasing after an opponent…

…

[Sunagakure Martial Arts Tournament─after the match]

…and landing a second, even heavier punch to Balrog's abdomen, sending him flying! Balrog had hit the wall of the arena with a resounding crash. His last words were: "MY FIGHT MONEY!"

"Match goes to…Dudley!"

Hiromi watched with excitement as the boxer, Balrog fell to the ground unconscious. The king of the underground boxing circuit had just been defeated. "Unsurprising," said the Kazekage, sitting next the her counterpart from Konoha, "Balrog is scum that should've been put down the second he started fighting the way he did while among the Professional Boxers."

"So I've heard." answered Hiromi, as the medics carted Balrog's unconscious body away.

"Out of curiosity, what brings you to this neck of the woods, Hokage-dono?" asked the Kazekage, "I highly doubt you'd be interested in the martial arts."

Hearing this question from her counterpart from those parts, Hiromi had to choose her words carefully. This was especially the case, since the Kazekage brought her daughters with her to watch the match in the stands nearby. A wrong word could be devastating to her plans. "I'm just here to make sure Naruto doesn't make a fool of himself," she said tersely, willing herself not to feel disgusted, "and most certainly not of the village."

The Kazekage could only raise her eyebrow in curiosity. "Oh? You sound like you know him very well."

"The boy is very well-known in my village, and is fairly popular among the civilian women and kunoichi living there. I would be remiss if I didn't keep tabs on all my citizens."

"Of that, I'm sure," agreed the Kazekage.

Seemingly satisfied with her answer, Hiromi sighed in relief. There was no need to tell her about her contingency plan that was put into place in the likely event that Naruto was to lose his match with the Kazekage. This called for some 'rogue kunoichi' from Tsuchi no Kuni moving in to snatch him away at the last minute. After that, came a staged 'rescue', that would make it look like Tsuchi no Kuni was responsible for interrupting the match. During the 'rescue', a Yamanaka among the 'rogue kunoichi' would rearrange his memories in such a manner as to make him seem traumatized by the event. This would give Konoha a legitimate claim to bring him back to the village where he would be protected (he'd be in an asylum, but at least he'd be safe).

Admittedly, that sounded like something Shimura Sango would come up with, and she felt like she'd hit rock-bottom for even thinking of it. Speaking of whom, she had doubts that she would do it; but if Hiromi knew her long-time rival and ex-girlfriend well enough, she too would be jumping at the opportunity to snatch Naruto. The only difference between how the two women would pull this off was that Sango wouldn't care if Naruto won or lost; she'd find an opportunity to abduct him before he even fought. _Good thing I brought that extra ANBU team to guard Naruto-kun_, she thought to herself, _plus, if Sango-__**chan**__ does in fact get the idea to try and kidnap him, I'll have all the ammunition I need to make sure her ROOT cell is good and dead._

"Would Uzumaki Naruto and Kanzuki Karin, please come up to the arena?"

Hiromi was brought out of her musings when she heard that line.

Walking out of one hallway was a blonde girl that could only be Kanzuki Karin. Hiromi had heard of the Kanzuki family, and knew they were wealthy in those parts; so rich were they that they were rumored to own at least a quarter (if not half) of Kaze no Kuni. It was also rumored that the current Daimyo was so jealous of their wealth that the current state of affairs in Sunagakure no Sato was the result of his attempt to one-up them.

"Not a surprise there," said the Kazekage, "the heirs to the Kanzuki family always show up to these events without fail. They only allow the winners of these tournaments to become the head of the house. So far, none have lost."

"I wouldn't be so certain," countered Hiromi, "Naruto has a reputation for defying expectations. Who knows? This could even be a first time for the Kanzuki girl to taste defeat."

"I'll believe that when I see it."

…

[Arena floor]

Naruto stood in front of his opponent, pulling his gloves snug over his fingers before stretching his legs and his back. Karin simply looked at him, with her eyes appraising the fighter before her. When it looked like she was done with her inspection, she placed her hand in front of her mouth and let out a throaty and arrogant "Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho". "You don't look like much," she finally said, moving her hand away from her mouth, "you're just a boy without an ounce of pedigree. Since I'm feeling generous today, I'll give you this one chance to surrender."

As he stretched his neck, the sound of satisfying cracks could be heard in the vicinity. "Thanks, but I'll pass, princess," he finally sighed out, before starting to stretch his sides, "I'm of a belief that hard work could beat raw talent; and I can see plenty of talent in you. I just wonder if you're strong enough to handle me."

"Well we'll see, now won't we?" hissed Karin, turning her attention to her butler, "Ishizaki, prepare the usual cocktail for me as soon as we're done. Also, make sure your first aid kit is handy. I plan to beat some sense into this rabble."

"As you wish, madam!" said the rotund man, bowing low before rushing off.

"Fighters, ready!"

Karin and Naruto had both slipped into their respective fighting stances. Neither of them tightened their stances, nor did they slacken to the point that their movements would be sluggish.

"ENGAGE!"

{Play: "Simple Rating" from "Street Fighter Alpha 3"}

Karin started the fight with a three-hit palm-strike combo, advancing a step with each strike. With each step she took, Naruto took a step back to deflect each punch away from him; after deflecting the third punch, he began to counter with a leg sweep that Karin jumped over. He rolled away the second he saw her spinning around and attempting to strike him twice with the bottoms of her palms falling upon his head. As soon as he managed to get a good foothold, Naruto countered with a spin-kick. "_**Tatsumaki!**_"

There was no escaping it. The kick was coming in too quickly, but Karin managed to rear back slightly and used her reflexes to catch Naruto's leg with both hands before throwing him off. Naruto managed to land on his hands before getting back on his feet just in time to block a low kick, before finally taking a hit on the chin from a second kick and then taking a three-hit palm-strike combo to the abdomen. However, he managed to make Karin pay for the hits she'd taken by recovering long enough to grab her by the blouse, flip backwards so that the two of them rolled along the ground, and then kicked her off by the abdomen.

Karin managed to land on her feet, but she was still shaken by the sudden grapple and the kick. She watched as Naruto managed to get up slowly, and both fighters wound up panting. "You've decent skill, I'll give you that," she finally breathed out, "but you'll probably be less of a disappointment as soon as you stop insulting me.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, but he still held his guard. "And just how have I insulted you?"

"By fighting me with weights tying you down."

He was surprised, but Naruto knew she was telling the truth. "Let me guess, it was that kick?"

Karin let out a grunt of acknowledgement. Her tone was not of anger, but of a predator that finally found worthy prey. "It was easy, really. I could feel from that kick I countered that the weight of your strike was far too great; that and I felt something rigid and heavy in your pants legs. You are fighting me with training weights. Did you think that those cheap excuses of weapons were going to give you an advantage?"

"That's where you're wrong," countered Naruto, "I'm not wearing the weights to give me an advantage, but because the match would be too short if I took them off. Besides, I don't want to tip off my hand too early. The Kazekage's still watching, and I want to surprise her with what I can _really_ do."

Slipping out of her stance, Karin decided to sit on the floor in lotus position. "I'll be the judge of that. Now are you going to continue fighting me with a handicap, or are you going to honor me with a preview of your true power? If you don't, then the referees will have no choice but to disqualify you."

As Naruto looked into his opponent's eyes, he saw that there was no convincing her of otherwise. She was determined to fight him at full-power. That, and the referee seemed more than willing to disqualify him immediately. Naruto let out a long sigh, his voice had a hint of resignation as he said two sing-song words: "Your funeral."

Naruto reached down to his pants legs, and pulled both up, revealing the leg weights he'd received on his birthday from Rock Lin. He pulled the strap on the left leg, and caught it just in time to lower it gently to the ground, before doing the same to the other leg. He then pulled up his sleeves to remove the wrist weights and then place them on top of the leg weights before taking off his prayer beads. Aside from his tracksuit, all Naruto wore were his shoes and his fighting gloves.

Once all the weights were taken off, Naruto stretched his neck, followed by his shoulders. He then slipped back into his fighting stance, feeling like the weight of the world had lifted off his shoulders. "Resuming the match," said the referee, as Karin stood back up to prepare for the fight to come, "Hajime!"

The second that word left his mouth, Naruto practically vanished before reappearing to smash his palm into Karin's chest and knocking her back. He then vanished again, and reappeared before his opponent, who managed to dodge a punch at the last minute, and land a low kick and getting back up to attempt a punch of her own. Naruto's response was to grab the arm that tried to punch him, and fling her over his shoulder.

Karin skidded across the arena floor as soon as she recovered in midair from the throw. As soon as she came to a stop, there was a moment of terror on her face, before it was quickly replaced with a grin of confidence. This would be a challenge indeed. She then moved in an attempt to land another three-hit combo only for Naruto to grab her by the wrist momentarily. "It's no use!" he said, pulling her in and stomping the ground and bringing his elbow down on her face.

However, Naruto was not done with Karin just yet. He landed a quick roundhouse to stand her back up briefly, and a second and even heavier roundhouse to send her into the air. Once she was high enough, Naruto performed a continuously spinning kick that began to whip the air around at high speeds before moving to intercept Karin in the air. Once the Naruto-top had made it to Karin, he landed a very heavy kick to her midsection before continuing to spin past her. "_**Tenshō Kaireki Jin!**_"

After stopping just in time to land on the ground, Naruto ran to catch Karin. He held her in a bridal carry before gently laying her unconscious body down on the ground.

"The winner of this match is Uzumaki Naruto!"

The butler named Ishizaki ran to his mistress with the medical kit in his hands. "She's fine," assured Naruto, "I managed to hold back enough for her to survive and fight again."

"I hope you realize that she's going to come after you for this," said Ishizaki, paying more attention to finding the medical tools in his kit, "you're now the worthiest opponent she's fought. She's going to chase you down until she finally beats you."

Naruto let out a sigh of exasperation. "She's not the only one."

…

[The Stands]

Even underneath her veil, one could tell that the Kazekage was surprised. She glanced to the side, and saw that her counterpart was equally as shocked. Was this the kind of match she was going to be involved in? If that's the case, then she needed to train a bit for the match to come. Hopefully however, Dudley would be the one to finish him off in the semi-finals, and then she would get the boy for her own purposes. But for now, she had several matches to watch

One thing was for certain; win or lose, the boy would have a lot of attention on him…

…

[Unknown location]

A man sitting on a throne was watching on the television screen as Uzumaki had soundly defeated the Kanzuki girl. He grinned, letting out an arrogant laugh. There was a lot of promise in that boy, and the viewer would hopefully be able to see more. But for now, he had other candidates to view in this endeavor. After all, it was still early in the tournament; he could be proven wrong after all.

…

_**A/N: I wonder, how many of you want Naruto to fight Chun-Li, Fei Long, or C. Viper, and how many of you want a rematch with Makoto? The possibilities are endless! Sadly, my polls are already taken up, and so this story will be put on ice until I hear from you who you want Naruto's final matchup to be in the Suna arc. So do please tell me whether you want Makoto, Fei Long, C. Viper, or Chun-Li to fight Naruto in the finals, would you kindly?**_

…

_**Vocabulary**_

_**dōgi (**__**道着**__**)─this is a martial arts uniform in its entirety, not including the armor. A dōgi is usually designed, and has the name of the martial art it's for (i.e. aikidōgi and karategi). Depending on the martial art, it can trade the pants off for a hakama (like for kendo or naginata).**_

_**komainu─this is the Japanese lion-dog**_

…

_**Cameos/References**_

_**Street Fighter:**_

_**Hibiki Dan: eliminated!**_

_**Dudley**_

_**Balrog**_

_**Makoto**_

_**Fei-Long**_

_**Chun-Li**_

_**C. Viper**_

_**Karin**_

"_**Fighters, ready…Engage!"─Street Fighter III's announcer says this at the start of the round**_


End file.
